Unyielding, rigid, tedious...
When you think of your office, organisation or company culture do any of these words come to mind?
Being too rigid can be detrimental to your organisation’s growth/success. It can even cause you to run afoul of the employment act.
Feeling like you're stuck in a dead-end job can really be no fun. For some, simply being stuck in a cubicle can feel unbearably stifling.
Having your every movement watched by suspicious, strict and wary superiors can not only deaden any enthusiasm you have for your job, but it can also actually be detrimental to your wellbeing and negatively impact your physical and mental health.
It can affect your productivity as well as creativity and thus affect the organisation as a whole.
Think about human talent and ingenuity as defining factors between success and failure.
Holding your people up to a universal standard of trust, dignity, and respect and making them feel appreciated may not be as straightforward as you think.
Being neglectful in this aspect can lead to significant drawbacks. You may have heard of the term work-life balance.
Having a system for workplace flexibility in place can be a way for employees to strike a work-life balance and if done right can not just benefit employees but employers as well. By being open to making changes to when, where, and how the employee works and to customizing an employees’ role/job scope, workplace flexibility enables both personal and business needs to be met.
Employees can be made to feel more valued and more motivated, encouraging them to perform better while their personal lives and wellbeing are not short-changed. At the same time, the organisation creates a more appealing company culture, attracting and retaining top talents that will help steer the business forward.
Workplace flexibility can garner higher levels of employee engagement and productivity with lower levels of turnover and absenteeism.
When employees are truly engaged, there may be less of a tendency for them to put their job aside and forget all about it once they are “off the clock”.
It can enable them to continue to draw inspiration and ideas from the world around them while leading an active life outside the confines of an office environment. These ideas can find their way into their work.
Also, when workplace flexibility is implemented, your talents may not necessarily be location/timezone bound, shifting away from being a regional or local force to a global one.
With today's available technology, intranets, social networks, and teleconferences can help to eliminate the needs/barriers that come with physical distance.
In this way, organisations can also save costs, such as on real estate and supplies which can amount to substantial savings once accumulated over time. The power of rostering can be a big part of managing flexibility properly within your organisation.
Nevertheless, some organisations and individuals are simply dependent on a certain type of structure or comfortable with the conventional way that things are done in the workforce.
For these, workplace flexibility may seem like a strange and risky 'newfangled' concept. Of course, as with most everything workplace flexibility has its pros and cons and in fact, there are probably some benefits that the good old 9 to 5 have over the flexible workplace. Some people really do prefer working at fixed times in an office environment and this can enhance their productivity much more than a flexible workspace can.
However, many studies do show that workplace flexibility is much more effective. The proof is in the numbers.
A smarter HR system for a smarter business: Carbonate helps you keep track of attendance and leaves in your company, and keeps you connected to your staff with its built-in broadcasting and promotion messaging tool. Its employee profiles and HR leave management system meet MOM 2016 Employment Act Amendment requirements.
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